Philippine Revolution Essay: an Act Against the Oppression

For more than 300 years, the Philippines was under the Spanish government. The colonialization began when a Portuguese under Spanish sponsorship, after he renounced his portages citizenship, Ferdinand Magellan came to Philippines in 1521 and claimed the islands as a colony for the Spanish Empire. This long colonialization that full of mistreatment, discrimination and abuses for Filipino people ended until Philippine Revolution happened. The Philippine Revolution during the Spanish Colonialization in 1896 to 1898 exposed the corruption and weakness of Spanish admiration however, this revolution, failed to oust the Spaniards from Philippine islands. This is Philippine revolution essay in which this even will be briefly discussed. 

The execution of Gomburza - Father Mariano Gómez, José Burgos, and Jacinto Zamora, the three Catholic priest on February 17, 1872 due to alleged sedition and treason by the Spanish military tribunal, fueled the revolutionary heart of prominent Philippine reformist and revolutionist Jose Rizal and Andres Bonifacio to fight for Philippine independence from Spanish regime.

The “Cry of Pugad Lawin” on August 23, 1896 was the start of Philippine Revolution. Members of KKK “Kataas-taasan Kagalang-galang na Katipunan nang mga Anak ng Bayan”, a secret revolutionary society, founded in July 1892, led by Andres Bonifacio tore up their cedulas, which was considered as an identification receipt issued for payment of taxes under Spanish government, as a symbol of their renouncement and determination to free Filipino People against Spaniards.

What Were the Reasons for Philippine Revolution?

Cultural

The Spaniards introduced Christianity and succeeded in converting the majority of Filipinos. At least 83% of the total population belongs to the Roman Catholic. In contrary, the priest abuses were one of the problems during Spanish occupation, this can be inferred from Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo, and this injustice was part of the reasons Philippine revolution sparked.

Economic 

Opening doors to World Trade and foreign Investment In 1834, Spain opened the Philippines to world trade. This meant that the goods from the Philippines could be shipped to any country abroad. And the other goods could be entering the Philippines directly. The new policy improved the Philippine economy. However, Filipino was forced to do labor also knows as Polo Y Servicio, it was a compulsory labor imposed by the Spanish colonial authorities on adult Filipino males. And if an Indio can’t pay imposed taxes, there could be a possibility that Indo will no longer have the opportunity to return to his family.

Social

During the Spanish Colonialization, there were five social classes that Dr. Jose Rizal found unacceptable that also fuels the Philippine revolution, These were: Peninsulares, the highest among five classes, that consists of Spaniards who were born in Spain and took roles in the Philippines; Insulares, these were the Spaniards born in the Philippines who took important position in the Spanish government in the Philippines; Mestizos, Filipinos of mixed indigenous Filipino (Austronesian/ Malay/ Malayo-Polynesian) or European or Chinese ancestry; Indios, these were pure Filipino; At last Chinese, these people were considered as the least in social classes. In Noli Me Tangere, a novel wrote by Dr. Rizal, social classes during the Spanish regime were clearly mirrored in every chapter of his novel. 

Political

Spain established a centralized colonial government in the Philippines that was composed of a national government and the local governments that administered provinces, cities, towns and municipalities. This kind of government seen by Rizal as another problem in the Philippines that needed reformation due to centralized power and Spaniard used this a privilege to abuse Filipino people.

Conclusion

To sum up the significance of philippine revolution essay, the effects of colonization on the native populations in the New World were mistreatment of the natives, harsh labor for them, and new ideas about religion for the Spaniards. The Philippine Revolution brought great social changes in terms of freedom of expression, information and opportunities to Pilipino society. There were cultural, social and political crucial issues for Philippines to start that revolution against Spanish pressure.